The Real Deal New York

There’s a long history of alleged discrimination at Trump-owned rental properties: report

The Donald denies knowledge of such practices, which allegedly date back to the 1960s

August 29, 2016 02:49PM

Donald Trump

There’s a long history of alleged racial discrimination at Trump-owned properties.

An investigation by the New York Times contends that Trump Management consistently turned away black tenants and other minorities from its rental properties, dating back to the 1960s. There was no evidence that Donald Trump helped set the organization’s rental policies, just that he was working for the company while they were in place. The Republican presidential candidate — who has warned black voters that Hillary Clinton is a “bigot” — has denied knowledge of any discriminatory practices at Trump-owned properties.

The Justice Department sued Donald Trump and his father Fred, the company’s chairman, in 1973 for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against blacks at their properties. Ultimately, the Trumps signed a consent decree, a settlement that Donald later touted in “Art of the Deal” for having admitted to no wrongdoing.

At the time, Thomas Miranda, a former superintendent for Trump Management, testified that several company employees instructed him to label apartment applications from black individuals with a “C” for “colored.”

This case was Trump’s first major run-in with the legal system, and many other cases followed. In April, The Real Deal identified more than 90 cases in which Trump or one of his entities sued in New York County State Supreme Court on a real estate-related matter and more than 250 cases in which he or one of his entities was the one being was sued.

The Times noted there’s no suggestion of racial bias by Donald Trump toward prospective residents in Manhattan luxury properties since the 1980s. [NYT] — Kathryn Brenzel